Use These 10 Tips and Tricks on Gmail Android App to Improve your Email Game

20 Nov 2017

It goes without saying that staying on top of emails is an essential part of our personal and professional life. However, easier said than done, this becomes difficult over time – especially on phones – given the small real estate and somewhat limited options on the Gmail Android app.

However, let that not deter you from making the most of your smartphone and the Gmail app as it also has an amazing array of features that you can customize to improve your email game.

1. Auto-advance

Have a lot of unread emails? Sort them easily using the Auto-Advance feature.

Available under General Settings, this nifty feature will take you to the next email once you've archived or deleted the one you are viewing, saving you from the agony of going back and opening a new email.

To active this, all you've to do is select between Newer, Older, and Conversation List.

2. More Labels

It goes without saying that Labels help us to improve productivity on Gmail. More the number of labels, easier it is to manage emails.

So, whether it's a newsletter or some projects, all you need to do is create a label and let the app do the magic for you.

Creating a label is still a luxury that can be enjoyed only on the desktop, however, the Android app gives you the option to manage these emails better.

If you find a bunch of emails that fit in a certain category, a tap on the three-dot menu (hamburger icon) is all it takes for you to move a new mail to its designated label.

3. Search Smartly

Suppose you just returned from a long vacation and opened your Gmail after a week or so. Hundreds of emails will instantly flood your inbox and make your life a complete misery.

The good news is that Gmail, like Google, lets you use a number of search identifiers to fish through your mailbox.

Whether it's a search for a subject or a particular time frame — all are doable.

So, if you want to search for a subject or by a particular time frame, all you have to do is enter a few search parameters such as subject: or older_than: and Gmail will fetch your emails on that subject or from the time period only.

Quick Tip: You can even search by any name, who was CC'd in an email, by typing cc: in the search bar followed by the email ID.

4. Change the Default Action

Gmail offers a smart option at the bottom of every mail, which lets you choose either to Reply or to Reply All.

Thus, if you frequently find yourself at the receiving end of emails that have a mini army in the To list, the default Reply All option is the best choice.

This too can be found in the General Settings menu. All you need to do is tap on the Reply icon and the job of including the mini army of recipients will be taken care of by Gmail.

5. Create a Multi-line Signature

Signature is an element we don't change too often. However, we'd also like our mail signature to stand out. Thankfully, Gmail allows you to create multi-line signatures on the app.

Head over to Settings, choose a mailbox and tap on Signatures. After that, write your credentials and hit Enter when you want to add a new line. As of now, the Gmail app on Android doesn't include images or HTML tags.

6. Priority Is the Key

Another cool way of filtering emails is the Priority Inbox feature. The feature – available in the mailbox settings – displays only those emails that the app deems important to you.

All such emails will be accompanied by a yellow Importance marker. The app determines an important email depending on the recipient, the frequency of emails, and the emails you open regularly.

7. Ask Before Deleting/Archiving

This is a small but very useful setting. In order to make sure that you don't delete any email accidentally, the Ask before Deleting checkbox will not let any email leave your inbox without your confirmation.

To activate this, head over to Settings > General Settings, scroll down to the bottom and tick the boxes beside the options to enable them.

Note: This trick only works for actions taken by tapping on the buttons at the upper right corner and not in the case of archive/delete gestures.

8. Write from Home Screen

It goes without saying that a few seconds saved is a few seconds earned in this fast-paced world. Thankfully, Gmail has a number of options that help you to save a lot of time.

Notable among such features are the long-press options. If you want to compose an email right from your home screen, a long press on the Gmail icon is all it takes to do the job.

9. Vacation Responder

If you ask me, the days leading up to a vacation are always exciting and, in this excitement, I often tend to forget activating the vacation responder or the Out of Office (OOO) replies.

Not to worry! The Android app lets you set the 'OOO reply' from your phone. All you have to do is open the Settings page and toggle the switch. Enter the necessary details, tap on Done and buzz off to your vacation tension-free.

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Written By

An engineer turned tech writer, Namrata used to write software codes before turning to a career in tech- writing. She is passionate about travelling, food and reading about cool new stuff. Apart from that, she holds a bachelors degree in I.T and hails from Guwahati.